Versant Sees Q3 Profit Drop Despite Upticks in Non-TV Operations

Versant Media said third quarter profit fell as its dependence on traditional media properties forced it to navigate with drops in cash from both advertising and distribution even as the company acquires new direct-to-consumer operations and launches digital businesses tied to its linear properties.

The owner of MS NOW, CNBC and USA said net income in the period fell more than 40% to $47 million, a decrease of $33 million from $80 million in the year-earlier period. Versant cited lower revenue and public company costs and interest expense following its separation from Comcast.

Revenue fell 4.2% to nearly $1.6 billion, compared with $1.67 billion in the year-earlier quarter Versant said advertising revenue dipped 5.3% during the period while fees from distribution were off 5.8%. Revenue from its non-TV operations, however, rose 9.6%. Versant cited higher revenue at Fandango, driven by movie ticket purchases and sales from its new cinema operating platform.

Versant CEO Mark Lazarus said the company would continue to make inroads in new businesses that diversified its revenue mix. “In the third quarter, we advanced Fandango’s evolution into a
comprehensive entertainment platform, integrated Full Swing into our golf ecosystem, and launched MS
NOW Membership to connect directly with our audiences,” Lazarus said in a statement. “We’re building deeper consumer relationships, expanding our reach and creating new opportunities for growth and monetization across our four core markets.”

Versant reaffirmed its projections for between $6.2 billion and $6.45 billion for the end of the year, and said it expected its free cash flow for the period to exceed a prior estimate of between $1. billion to $1.2 billion.